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Jan 4, 2019
1 min

Lovely Drainage Solution

Water was draining from driveway into basement. Soil was added to regrade away from the house and a drainage channel lined with gravel was installed along the driveway, with a buried pipe running all the way to the rear of the backyard following the downward slop of the yard. This "surface solution" is much cheaper and much preferred to French drains at the base of the foundation, in my opinion. Get the water away before it can soak into the ground! #drainage

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Paul Cummins

Dec 18, 2017
1 min

Reboot your plumbing vents!

Perma-boots come in different sizes depending on the size of the vent pipes. These can also easily extend the height of existing pipes if the pipe cover extension connects to some part of the existing pipe (and you glue it on). If the pipes aren't high enough over the roof surface a heavy snowfall may block them and then the toilets won't flush! Click here for one size. Fixed my mother-in-law's leaking vents with these! #roof #drainage

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Paul Cummins

Jun 24, 2017
1 min

The Drain to Nowhere

Water is the main enemy of your house. We don't want roofs to leak, concrete blocks to efflouresce, pipes to break, siding to fail or rainwater bumping up against footings or foundations. Buried downspout extenders are definitely more attractive and some runs need to be quite long to find a downgrade, so these caps that pop up when the pipes get full are very handy. This one is pretty cool too. Click on images for links. #drainage

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Water is usually the enemy...chimneys included!

Paul Cummins

Mar 20, 2017
1 min

Water is usually the enemy...chimneys included!

Chimneys: lofty, solid...out there in the wind and snow and rain. But like all of us, vulnerable. Brick work isn't designed to act like a roof (like in the sloped parts of chimneys) or dams, when the sides of chimneys meet the roof. Hence the poetically named cricket diverter, which is made of metal or roofing material and sends the water, snow and ice to either side into the gutter. Otherwise, ice can form a dam uphill of the chimney and water pools against flashing which

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A couple tweaks to make your gutters more effective.

Paul Cummins

Mar 17, 2017
1 min

A couple tweaks to make your gutters more effective.

Roofs are supposed to be on top of everything else. When a roof meets a wall you've got water running down where it was not meant to and then when it gets to the base of the wall it can wrap around and cause trouble. I just inspected a house that needed a whole new joist and its support replaced due to the lack of a few dollars of kick-out flashing. This gutter valley splash guard will help prevent overflow from high pitched roof valleys. Click on image for link. #drainage

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Paul Cummins

Feb 12, 2017
1 min

Best gutter guards

Here's a house where the gutters have become planters! Cleaning gutters (and anything else done on ladders) is a major cause of death among men of a certain age. It also results in cut hands and a messy yard below. I have found that Gutter Helmets work best. Designed like an air foil (wing or sail) debris, except for some pine needles, falls over the gutter and water, because of its high cohesion (hydrogen bonds) sticks onto the guard and just wraps around into the gutter:

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Paul Cummins

Oct 14, 2016
1 min

Cellular Water Alarm

The most costly damage I've seen in homes has come from plumbing leaks, sump overflows and water heaters bursting. It is good to check your sump pump's function regularly and replace your water heater no less than every 15 years. Yet, there's nothing like being there when the problem happens. This device lets you "be there" whether you're there or not! Click below for the video from pumpalarm.com. This is a battery back-up system. It has its own pump. If the power goes

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Paul Cummins

Sep 18, 2016
1 min

Losing soil along a sloping foundation?

I'm not a fan of painting the timbers: they will flake soon and look grimy. Just need to be sure the soil and mulch doesn't get too close to any wood framing. Can also run drainage pipe parallel with the timbers to draw water away from the house. In terms of installation it works well to drill 3/8 inch holes and drive 1/2 inch wide-two foot rebars in with a sledge hammer (FUN)! Say "Who's your daddy?" with each throw of the hammer. #drainage #garden

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Problem with slate roofs is that the flashing wears out first!

Paul Cummins

Jul 15, 2016
1 min

Problem with slate roofs is that the flashing wears out first!

The metal flashing wears out after about 70 years on slate roofs. To redo flashing on the valleys they have to be cut back and completely redone. Ridges can be fixed from the surface by this technique. Most of the roofing cement I see on slate roofs is on the ridges. #roof #drainage

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Paul Cummins

Jun 26, 2016
1 min

Safe "Power Washing"!

This little $5 device has endless uses. It's great for "sweeping" driveways and patios and cleaning out your outdoor drains. The ones at the bottom of your stairs often don't have their own trap, because the water in the trap would freeze. A horizontal portion of pipe usually runs to an indoor drain with a trap. So to clear the horizontal pipe simply put this on the end of your hose and shoot it down the drain! Can save many a basement from flooding! #drainage #plumbing #

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Paul Cummins

Jan 5, 2016
1 min

A levy for your basement door!

Drove my Chevy to the levy and it WAS NOT dry. Water pouring in under the door, wood trim rotting on either side...led me to drink a bottle of rye! These kinds of inventions just have to improve your faith in humanity... simple, inexpensive, solve multiple problems. Click on image for link to product description. Can be bought at Home Depot. #drainage

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Can save you from a failing basement wall!

Paul Cummins

Dec 3, 2015
1 min

Can save you from a failing basement wall!

Buried downspout extensions are more attractive but are guaranteed to clog at some point and send water directly to your foundation. These WYES at the end of your downspout, connected to the buried pipe, will filter out debris from above and let you easily see overflow when the buried pipe gets clogged by roots or silt. Click on image for link. #drainage #roof

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Clear cover on sump helps avoid flooding!

Paul Cummins

Nov 22, 2015
1 min

Clear cover on sump helps avoid flooding!

If the sump pump doesn't work then your primary defense against basement flooding is lost. If the sump is sealed tight and the cover is opaque, neither you nor inspectors can easily tell if it's doing the job or not. This lexan cover will let you see clearly now the drain is gone (cue Johnny Nash). Click on image below for link. #drainage #crawlspace #plumbing

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Dry wells prevent your yard from being classified as wetlands!

Paul Cummins

Nov 21, 2015
1 min

Dry wells prevent your yard from being classified as wetlands!

First thought, dry wells aren't good, means we will die of thirst after crossing the desert. Ah, but dry wells can save your foundation, basement and yard. The idea is they fill up during a storm, contain the water and let it seep into the soil slowly. A rain barrel could be considered a dry well. Here is an in-ground one. Search "dry well images" for a great variety of others. This homely model receives drainage pipes from your downspouts or drains to protect your reta

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From mold to crumbling walls...$10 can save you thousands!

Paul Cummins

Nov 4, 2015
1 min

From mold to crumbling walls...$10 can save you thousands!

It's amazing how much damage a leaky gutter or a misdriected downspout can do. I've seen gutter overflows neglected for years causing mold in the basement and downspouts dumping half a roof's water onto one corner of the foundation and literally eating it away. As a general rule get that water at least 5 feet away from the foundation or further if needed to slope away from the house! Click on image to link to this versatile model. Look at the trouble they've taken at Linco

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Paul Cummins

Aug 8, 2015
1 min

Protect your crawlspace from flooding!

When the ground near your crawlspace vent is graded toward your house, runoff can go right in your crawlspace vent! One rebuilt house I inspected actually had the whole yard graded so it would dump into the neighbor's crawlspace vents! These crawlspace wells can help. This site also has customizable powered vent fans. Click on image above for link. #crawlspace #ventilation #drainage

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Paul Cummins

Jul 30, 2015
1 min

Water under the basement door no more!

Maybe the gutter is overflowing, maybe your yard is sloped toward your stairs, maybe your old drain at the bottom of the stairs is just plum wore out from too many roots breaking trough. Truth is it may be any combination of these things but if you're at your wits end and have already replaced the basement carpet a couple of times, try this: #drainage

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Paul Cummins

Jul 24, 2015
1 min

Timing is Everything!

A home usually has a long history of good use, happy times and, yes, insults and injuries, before I come to check it over for a potential new master seeking refuge and happiness. Often the simplest things can cause the most dramatic differences to a building's habitability. In the case documented below I arrived just in time for one of the summer's tropical deluges and the "Case of the Flooded Basement" was solved! #misc #drainage #roof

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The walls don't need to come a tumblin' down!

Paul Cummins

Mar 31, 2015
1 min

The walls don't need to come a tumblin' down!

Yesterday I saw a house on a hill with a crumbling garage wall buckling and other retaining walls cracking due to the simple lack of proper drainage and weep holes. For weep hole drainage dig a post hole every couple of feet and line the holes with landscape-fabric filled with gravel...then drill weeps hole near the bottom of each gravel column. For drainage along walls dig a sloped trench, line with landscape fabric, line with gravel, then lay plastic drainage pipe covered

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NO SURPRISES

Lovely Drainage Solution

Reboot your plumbing vents!

The Drain to Nowhere

Water is usually the enemy...chimneys included!

A couple tweaks to make your gutters more effective.

Best gutter guards

Cellular Water Alarm

Losing soil along a sloping foundation?

Problem with slate roofs is that the flashing wears out first!

Safe "Power Washing"!

A levy for your basement door!

Can save you from a failing basement wall!

Clear cover on sump helps avoid flooding!

Dry wells prevent your yard from being classified as wetlands!

From mold to crumbling walls...$10 can save you thousands!

Protect your crawlspace from flooding!

Water under the basement door no more!

No Ark Required!

Timing is Everything!

The walls don't need to come a tumblin' down!

Home Inspection NOVA-DC